2024-05-24 20:31:46
A now-insolvent family-private basis of the previous actual property tycoon served as a “tax blocker” within the Signa universe. It gave the tax authorities round 1.25 billion euros.
Daniel Zulauf / ch media
René Benko and his over-leveraged property empire Signa are nonetheless filled with secrets and techniques nearly six months following the primary chapter. In Austria, the general public is now primarily involved with the query of whether or not and to what extent politicians and authorities officers weren’t solely seduced by the Tyrolean self-made billionaire, however even purchased.
René Benko.Picture: keystone
Based on native media, an interrogation of Benko by the parliamentary investigative committee in Vienna on Wednesday revealed little concrete. Referring to ongoing proceedings, the respondent refused to reply a lot of the questions. Benko, who used to hardly miss a chance to indicate his likeness at occasions with vital folks, appeared in public for under the second time since his enterprise went down.
A basis filled with debt
Within the Signa group, the trustees have lengthy been accountable. Each stone is turned within the hope that usable property will emerge. Now a non-public basis, the “Household Benko Personal Basis”, needed to account for its property and excellent claims on the Innsbruck Regional Court docket for the primary time.
On this society, too, there’s truly solely debt – 854 million euros, to be exact. Twenty collectors make claims for a complete of two.3 billion euros, though the insolvency administrator initially considers solely 49.5 million euros to be justified. Other than 26,000 euros from the conclusion of a securities portfolio, the muse has no property.
Nonetheless, the anemic basis fulfilled “a really central operate” throughout the whole Signa group, states creditor consultant Klaus Schaller, head of the Credit score Safety Affiliation of 1870. His impression that the muse had been used for years as a type of financing device throughout the Signa group elevated in the course of the proceedings. Schaller desires to verify whether or not loans granted to René Benko or to sure Signa firms with out acceptable safety have been suitable with the muse deed.
However how the over-indebtedness arose is already fairly clear. With its 10.1 p.c stake in Signa Holding GmbH, which was additionally bancrupt, the muse acted as a “tax barrier,” as Schaller places it. Which means that the muse, as a long-standing shareholder, loved the privilege of being exempt from the so-called property switch tax, which is imposed on property transactions in Austria and Germany. The inspiration was in a position to switch its tax privileges to the complete Signa group, thereby saving tax burdens of round 1.25 billion euros.
A “cash carousel”
The spectacular sum, which relies on a mean property switch tax fee of most likely a most of 5 p.c, reveals the big dimensions with which the Benko firms have purchased and resold property in Austria and Germany alone.
To maintain the Ferris wheel going, Signa Holding constantly wanted new fairness through the years. The Benko Personal Basis needed to take part proportionately in these capital will increase to be able to keep its shareholding and never lose its tax privileges.
As a way to finance Signa Holding, the muse has more and more needed to depend on loans from banks and personal lenders lately. NZZ just lately reported precisely how this might have occurred, citing the hot-off-the-press analysis “Inside Signa” by the 2 authors Rainer Fleckl and Sebastian Reinhardt (problem a, 2024).
The investigation reveals that Benko was in a position to switch the 35 million euros wanted within the basis to proportionately finance Signa Holding’s newest capital growth to the muse through mortgage agreements with Signa firms through winding roads following which ship the cash immediately on to the holding firm. NZZ most likely rightly describes the method as a “cash carousel” that presumably saved the Benko enterprise alive lengthy following its efficient expiration date.
The content material stays a secret from Benkos
As an entrepreneur, René Benko can be in insolvency proceedings. He states that he has no property. Based on Austrian media, he earns an earnings of three,800 euros from Laura Asset 2018 GmbH, an organization belonging to the Laura Personal Basis named following Benko’s daughter. The inspiration isn’t bancrupt and Benko isn’t proper. So the content material stays Benkos’ secret.
Austrian media is filled with clues and hypothesis in regards to the fabulous property mentioned to be hidden within the household’s numerous non-public foundations not named following René Benko. Now one can count on that the tax authorities, along with the non-public collectors, can even do every part they’ll to disclose the final secrets and techniques of Benkos.
The Signa debacle continues to have an effect
Financial institution Julius Baer misplaced some huge cash on loans to the Signa group. The write-down of the loans of 600 million francs value CEO Philipp Rickenbacher his job in February. “After a weak begin in January”, the circulate of buyer cash grew to become “appreciable” and reached one billion francs within the first 4 months of the yr. Final yr, Julius Baer attracted considerably extra new buyer cash in the identical interval. The weakened momentum might be not solely as a result of destructive headlines surrounding the Signa credit score losses, but in addition to the much less favorable market growth. In its interim report on enterprise growth as much as the top of April, the financial institution refers back to the vital enchancment in profitability and highlights its core capital protection of 15.3 per cent on the finish of March, which is barely above the comparable share of UBS (14.8 per cent). ). The Julius Baer share has elevated by 20 p.c to 56 francs because the starting of the yr and has compensated for the worth decline that occurred in November. (dz)
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